The Kuwait National Petroleum Company has postponed the construction of the crude oil distillation unit and the bitumen production unit for two years, until the completion of a study of the possibility of extending the service of the current units for the coming years.
The Al-Jarida daily quoting the KNPC source indicated that the two projects come within the strategic directions of the refining, marketing and petrochemical sector of KPC 2030, to ensure continuous provision of this product and meet all future needs of the local market.
The source said that the feasibility study for the project was carried out in two phases, the first included confirming and reviewing the results of the study conducted by the company to assess the remaining life span of the bitumen and eocene units, and reviewing and updating the study of future expectations for the demand for bitumen in the local market according to the study of the consulting company.
This is in addition to identifying and developing the necessary alternatives to achieve the requirements of the local market in the short, medium and long term.
Regarding the second phase, he stated that it included a feasibility study for the proposed alternative and recommendations based on the results and recommendations of the first phase study, the establishment of new bitumen and eocene units according to the AMEC study, where the results of the second phase of the feasibility study were reviewed with the concerned departments of the company, and the approval of the projects committee in the company was obtained on the results of the feasibility study, in addition to the Environment Public Authority.
A study of the initial engineering designs for the project has also been completed, based on the use of Kuwaiti oil for export, West Kuwait oil and Kuwaiti heavy oil, in addition to building a storage capacity for bitumen material sufficient for 30 days as a strategic stock.
Based on the institution’s request to legalize capital expenditures during the coming period, and after taking into account the expected decrease in the demand for bitumen based on the study submitted by the consultant, the implementation of the project has been postponed for the next two years, with a detailed study being conducted during the units’ shutdown in February 2022, where an examination was conducted for all unit utility equipment during this shutdown.
A study and evaluation is underway of the possibility of extending the service of the current units for the coming years, and the need to implement this project at the lowest possible cost.